


The man with the world in his hands

by thesaddestofbeans



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Ace Takemichi is Best Takemichi, Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, But in a canon way, M/M, Mondo with glasses, Post-Apocalypse, Rated for Mondo's language, sort of slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-07-04 00:43:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15830244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesaddestofbeans/pseuds/thesaddestofbeans
Summary: It's been two years since Mondo was executed only to find out that he, along with his classmates, had been trapped in a simulation the entire time. To him, those two years had gone on for a lifetime. There was only one thing he missed about his time in Hope's Peak, anyways."He’s spent his time gathering up what remained of his gang and, once that was done, helping bring the survivors back to the Future Foundation and the Togami Estate. Surprisingly enough, a majority of the Crazy Diamonds banded together to survive the end of the world- the one upside to the rough lives they all lead, he guesses.His point remained. It had been two long years of driving from one end of Japan to the other just to find those struggling to make it on their own and bring them back to where it all began, and not once had he seen Taka."





	1. Chapter 1

The killing games happened two years ago. To Mondo, it seemed like far longer- he must not have had a day of peace since the world went black in that cage and he woke up outside of Hope’s Peak’s doors.

He was almost immediately greeted by a very eager Fujisaki, who waved off his apology and explained how they, along with Maizono and Kuwata, had appeared here after supposedly dying. They were greeted with open arms by what remained of society- the Togami family had used their immense wealth and surplus of supplies to house the survivors who could make the trip to the city outside Hope’s Peak. Or, well... The city outside where Hope’s Peak used to be.

Mondo had realized the moment he opened his eyes that something dreadfully, horribly,  _ despairingly _ wrong had happened while they were trapped inside.

And, honestly, quite a bit of that realization stemmed from the fact that all that remained of Hope’s Peak was the decrepit one-story building he was propped against.

Fujisaki took him back to the Togami Estate, which had been converted into a shelter along with the several undamaged buildings surrounding it. Within Mondo found out that, not only did they have a way of seeing inside the killing game, the whole thing was being broadcasted live to anyone with a television. He spent days glued to a screen, locked in his room where no one could see him scream and cry at the empty husk that used to be his best friend.

Not that Taka could hear him, anyway.

When his classmates found Taka’s body, Mondo worried that they wouldn’t make it to what remained of the real Hope’s Peak before he woke up. After everything that happened- the execution, the weird catatonic state Taka went into, Alter Ego’s appearance and Ishida, and then finally Yamada’s “revenge”- Mondo wouldn’t dream of leaving his kyodai to wake up alone.

The fact that his affection towards Kiyotaka had moved from brotherly to something else entirely was irrelevant.

But- that was all in the past. The truth of the matter is that, after reuniting and spending the next month waiting for the rest of class 78 to come trickling back, they were recruited by the Future Foundation in an effort to bring their world back to what it once was and went their separate ways. Mondo hasn’t seen Taka since then.

No, he’s spent his time gathering up what remained of his gang and, once that was done, helping bring the survivors back to the Future Foundation and the Togami Estate. Surprisingly enough, a majority of the Crazy Diamonds banded together to survive the end of the world- the one upside to the rough lives they all lead, he guesses.

His point remained. It had been two long years of driving from one end of Japan to the other just to find those struggling to make it on their own and bring them back to where it all began, and not once had he seen Taka.

Mondo is sure he’s busy anyhow- bringing order back to a world that’s falling apart at the seams would be impossible to anyone but him. And what’s one biker to the man destined to lead the remains of society to greatness, anyhow? Mondo is sure Taka has moved on to bigger, better things than him. The whole world has. He’s almost positive that’s why Taka hadn’t been to see him during any of his brief visits- there’s no room for gangsters like him when there’s already danger lurking in every shadow.

Either way, he and the gang stumbled across a pocket of survivors not far from the southern coast not long ago and were preparing to make the trip back with almost double the number of people they arrived with. It wouldn’t be too bad as long as all the survivors agreed to ride behind a member of the Diamonds. It was beginning to look like there might be some issues, though.

A child was crying. “I don’t wan’ta leave! I wanna stay with mom! I- I-  _ no _ !”

Michi tried to explain to both, “There isn’t enough room, we can only have two people per bike-” but was very quickly interrupted by even louder screeching. Wow, he really wasn’t getting through to that kid.

Looks like the mother isn’t having much luck, either.

...

God damn it.

“Yo!” Mondo interrupted the three of them before crouching down to the kid’s level. “Wouldn’t it be way cooler if you rode up front with me? I mean, I am runnin’ this thing. You get to be up front and lead everyone n’ shh-  _ uh _ .” He just barely stops himself from cussing at the end.

But, on the bright side, the kid seems to like that idea. From there it only takes a few more minutes to get everyone situated- Mondo never thought he’d have to make a cross country road trip with a toddler on his lap, but there’s always a first for everything.

At least he settled down once they got on the road.

Fujisaki’s greatest inventions (in Mondo’s humble opinion) were definitely the modifications he outfitted into each of the Crazy Diamonds’ helmets. Driving long distance in the state everything was at the moment was hard without protection of some kind: the smoke stung his eyes and throat and the red haze that settled on the horizon made it hard to see without a color filter. Three painful trips and one doctor’s appointment later, Fujisaki presented them all with specialized helmets to prevent issues with their eyesight and lungs. It was too late for Mondo- he needs to wear glasses when reading because of it and being outdoors too long without a face mask sends him into horrible coughing fits. He’s just glad the issue was fixed before anyone else had any complications. Sure, they complained plenty about the loss of their hair, but better that than their eyes or lungs.

The good news is that short-term passengers could go without the modified helmets. They still kept a few spares around in case anyone had pre-existing issues, but more often than not a normal helmet would do just fine.

He’s still giving the kid- Shiro- a modified one, god damn it. He doesn’t want to take any chances, not after they’ve come so far and managed so much.

It takes a little over four hours to get back to the Togami Estate. The ride went without incident- that is, except for when the kid threw a tantrum mid-ride because he wanted to be on the same bike as his mother. Of course.

Michi just gave up and crammed them all on his bike. Honestly? Things could have gone worse.

As they pull up to the main building they spot a group of people gathering in front of the doors. Michi must have called ahead to warn Fujisaki and the rest about the colony they had brought back with them. They came to a stop at the base of the stairs, dusty and grimy and probably stinking to high heavens but overjoyed at their success.

They weren’t the only ones. All of the ultimates were gathered there to greet the new addition to the survivors- that is, all but one.

Naegi stepped forward and waved at Mondo. “Oowada! Oowada, I’m so sorry, Taka couldn’t make it. I tried to convince him to come but he’s buried in work, almost literally.”

“Eh, it’s fine. Didn’t expect him t’ be here anyway.” Mondo dismounted and met Naegi halfway, taking his offered hand and patting him on the back. “Still, it’s good t’ see ya.”

“Yeah, you too!”

Mondo spent a few minutes catching up with everyone before helping the survivors still gathered outside filter into the main building to check in and get room assignments. Togami (the one Mondo actually knows) reads off some speech about how they’re welcome to join the Future Foundation but aren’t obligated to now that they’re staying with us, and finally,  _ finally _ Mondo gets to go back to his room and relax.

When everything is said and done Mondo has a little under a day before he and the rest of the gang have to move out again. A day before they head back out into the wasteland with the possibility of never making it back.

...

Fuck he wishes Taka were here.


	2. Chapter 2

Kiyotaka never thought of himself as a particularly busy man.

That is, until he really, truly wanted to do something outside of his work but couldn’t find a way out of his office except for the occasional water break. He had heard the news at the same time everyone else did, and he  _ swore _ he’d make it this time. It couldn’t have been that long since he last saw Mondo, he was sure, but... Still. This was major.

It... Couldn’t have been that long, right? Kiyotaka couldn’t remember the last time he even got a break, let alone visit anyone. He was sure Togami would give him one if he asked, but if he could just catch up on his work he wouldn’t even need to ask! If only more work wasn’t added almost as fast as he could complete it.

In the end, he wasn’t able to excuse himself until long after the sun had set. He wanted to just drag himself into bed and not wake up until midday, but he will refuse to rest until he finishes his goals for the day.

And the one thing he has left to complete is probably the most important.

Okay, maybe barging into Mondo’s room at some obscene time in the early morning wasn’t the  _ greatest _ idea, but Ishimaru knew that the moment he woke up tomorrow he’d be buried up to his nose in work. By the time he finished, he’d probably be in the same situation he was today and Mondo would be long gone.

After several long moments of wandering from what was once the Togami Estate to the residential building down the road Kiyotaka was finally outside Mondo’s door. He knocked without hesitation.

Nothing.

He’s probably asleep anyway, maybe Kiyotaka should try again.

After several minutes stood outside Mondo’s door, he finally gave up. Either Mondo was a very deep sleeper or he wasn’t there. There’s no way he’d  _ ignore _ Kiyotaka, right? That was ridiculous! He wouldn’t.

Although...

It wouldn’t be the first time.

Maybe he was better off anyway. His friendship with Mondo was wonderful, life-changing, better than he could have ever thought possible, but... It was only a matter of time before the biker found out that Kiyotaka’s feelings for him ran far deeper than that.

He knocks one last time.

He is, once again, met only by silence.

It should be fine, right? He can just come back in the morning. Mondo isn’t leaving until later in the day, anyway. He could just- just find some time between rewriting the monthly income sheet that Naegi lost and helping Togami with the survivor intake program. Yeah.

He walked away, fatigue making Kiyotaka’s movements slow and unsteady.

Sleep. That’s... Yeah. That’s a good idea.


	3. Chapter 3

Takemichi watched Ishimaru walk away through the peephole in the door. He felt bad for not answering, but Mondo desperately needed to sleep.

He had come stumbling to Takemichi’s door about an hour ago- shaking, in tears, and muttering of death and executions and blood on his hands. This had happened during their trips, of course; no one in the gang blamed him for what happened and they certainly didn’t think he was weak. Almost everyone had nightmares these days. Mondo’s were just a little more... Intense.

Everyone who had access to a device of some kind during the killing game was thrilled to find out that their leader had survived. Those who weren’t able to go to him or who didn’t know he was alive were very quickly tracked down by Takemichi after the game had stopped and things had settled down.

Well... Settled down was a mild word for it. It was hard to watch his leader and, dare he say it, best friend grieve for someone who wasn’t even dead. Ishimaru’s shadow loomed over him until the boy was killed and appeared in front of Hope’s Peak, and even Takemichi wasn’t blind to Mondo’s feelings for him. But, as was bound to happen, Ishimaru was caught up in the flow of leadership and left everyone outside of the Future Foundation headquarters behind.

Takemichi felt bad for the both of them. He doesn’t think Ishimaru even knew about Mondo’s night terrors. From what Mondo had told him, though, it seemed like the ones that weren’t about his own death were about being trapped on the other side of a screen as Ishimaru bled out, alone and afraid. The game may be long over, but the aftereffects will haunt him for years to come.

So, when Takemichi was woken up by pounding on his door and muffled sobbing, he knew the best solution was to cram as many gang members possible in Mondo’s room with as much bedding as they could find piled up on the bed and shoot the shit until exhaustion pulls them all under.

None of them mind. They’re all still so relieved to have him back that they’re willing to be as patient with him as he needs. Takemichi likes to think that they would’ve been patient regardless.

He’s probably right.

Either way, as much as he wanted to let Ishimaru in and as happy as he knew Mondo would be, the pile of men on and around the bed had just finally settled down. Takemichi would just tell Mondo in the morning that he had come to visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> double chapter day baybe!!!!!!  
> its not saying much bc theyre both REALLY short but hey, i wanted these two in here but i didnt want to have to do full chapters. so heres the mini ones

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys!  
> next chapter is being worked on as i type, i promise  
> its going to be split between takas and takemichis perspectives, just bc i want to get some insight on both of them and like, i love the gang dynamic? let them love each other? please?


End file.
